


one hastily scrawled sentence behind a clock

by guttersvoice



Category: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | Higurashi When They Cry
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-23 00:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7459746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guttersvoice/pseuds/guttersvoice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A humid day in summer. Keiichi walks home, takes a detour, and sees someone he knows. He knows him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	one hastily scrawled sentence behind a clock

**Author's Note:**

> my good friend [amelia tsukum](https://twitter.com/tsukum_) drew [this](https://twitter.com/tsukum_/status/752359315478949888) as an accompaniment to this fic that i wrote when i should have been sleeping
> 
> the title actually has very little to do with the fic, but titling things is hard. pretend you found this and the matching illustration tucked between two places that shouldn't have been touching, on paper that seems too old to have printed text on but does anyway

It's almost-sweaty-hot: the air’s close today, and there’s not a single merciful cloud in the sky.

The sun beats the back of Keiichi’s neck even through the trees, and he can’t even summon the effort to groan out his misery. He doesn’t know where the girls are, but he’s willing to bet that it's somewhere cooler than this dirt road through the forest, and if he had the energy he'd be furiously jealous of them. As it is, he just wants to make it home before he collapses.

The cicadas are making a fucking racket.

He lowkey wants to scream, but he's too sweaty.

A thought occurs - knowledge and ideas finally connecting through his summer-fog brain.

The river isn't too far from this part of the track. He fancies he can even hear it, maybe. Distant, the cool water laughs and beckons. Keiichi doesn't have the energy to run, even with the promise of fresh river water damping his socks. He trudges, instead. Takes him a good few minutes, but soon enough he knows it's just past the next wall of bushes.

He doesn’t even care, just pushes through leaves and scraping branches.

On the other side is the river, sure enough.

 

There’s someone else there.

 

A pale line cut against the shadows of the overhanging trees, stood sunshine-headed and pink in the face and up to his knees in the river. 

Keiichi knows him, intrinsically, though at this moment he can’t quite recall if they've ever actually met in person. He recognises him, though.

Satoshi beams when he sees Keiichi, beckons him to join him in the water.

“We had the same idea, huh?”

He’s soaking his school shirt, bent over a little. It starts floating away a bit when he greets Keiichi. White glaring under the sun, but it looks soft just below the surface.

 

Reminds him of something.

 

He joins Satoshi in the river, not bothering to take off his shoes or roll up his pants. If they soak through they'll keep cooling him on the rest of his walk home. His bag is dropped by a baseball bat at the river's edge.

The water comes up to his knees, and it chills right to the bone so quick he must be blessed.

One of them lets out a happy sigh. He's not sure which. Maybe both of them at the same time.

“Here,” says Satoshi, and wrings his wet shirt out over Keiichi’s head.

He squeaks a little in surprise, and gets to hear a soft laugh in recompense. Sweet brown eyes smile at him, and the situation washes over him as the river laps at his thighs.

He doesn't mind it, maybe. Being attracted to a boy like Satoshi, that is. It's hard for Keiichi to imagine not looking at this boy and seeing kindness and beauty. Satoshi has endured so much, and still is like this.

 

A part of him is dimly aware that he would never idolise any of his girl friends quite like this.

 

Satoshi has splashed water over his own head, too, now. His hair's a few shades darker for being wet, but still startlingly gold where the sunlight hits it through gaps in the trees.

Dripping, he's gorgeous; he grins, and Keiichi wants to, he wants to, he wants,

“Keiichi-kun.” Satoshi has stepped closer. His shirt is drifting away again, though, so he’s not going to cool Keiichi off again.

He needs it, though, he's pretty sure. His face is hotter than ever.

Satoshi’s face is closer than ever.

“Keiichi-kun,” he says again, voice a little quieter now, though there's no one around to hear. Keiichi doesn't want to move away.

They kiss, briefly, and one cold, wet hand cups his face but doesn't cool him down.

“Yeah,” he responds.

It's hard to think of something more intelligent to say.

 

It's hard to think.

 

He kisses back, hands moving by themselves to rest on Satoshi’s narrow hips and pull him just a little closer. Not too close. It's too hot, today. Bodies pressed together seems like a good idea for another time.

He hopes there's another time, he realises. It's strange to know that. He doesn’t mind, right now.

Right now, Satoshi tastes like lemonade and sunshine and a little bit like river water, and his fingers are in Keiichi’s hair.

 

When he steps away, they're holding hands, and Keiichi isn't sure when that happened, but he’s happy about it. There's a wide, goofy smile pushing at his mouth where a sweeter smile was just pressed.

 

“Alright,” he says, not really sure what he's agreeing to.

Satoshi squeezes his hand. He squeezes back.

 

They walk to Keiichi’s house had in hand, just slightly out of step with one another.


End file.
